The Gift
by OnTheTardis
Summary: A nice little Christmas fluff between the Doctor and Donna while they visit a snowy cabin. The Doctor/Donna pairing. One-shot. No spoilers.


**Just a little Christmas story that was only suppose to be 100 words, but it just kept coming to me. **

**I hope you enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who, I wrote a nice long letter to Santa I hope he gives me the rights, I can't wait until the 25th!!!!**

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"I can't believe you left me." Donna's voice rang in the Doctor's red colored ears, as the snow blew around them.

"Donna--" The Time Lord began, as he tried to guide them back into the cabin.

"No," She interjected, pulling her arm out of his grasp, "You left me, without any indication that you would be back."

"Donna, just let me explain."

"Just left me shouting after you, ankle deep in snow. I hope you enjoyed it, Spaceman, cause that's the last time you're going to make a fool out of me."

"Donna, please."

"Please what? Forgive you? Fat chance." She huffed and turned as best she could to go back inside where it was warm.

The Doctor followed, his left hand still behind his back, she had shut the door the moment he began walking through the threshold. He sighed and hoped that she hadn't found someway to barricade the door and let him freeze to death.

He found it unlocked, he entered the cabin quickly and shut the door with some help from the wind. He shook the snow from his body and stomped the ice from his shoes.

She was sitting on the pallet that they had made before when they had found the abandoned cabin, they had decided to stay for a while, and they managed to get snowed in.

Freezing, the Doctor built a fire with some broken wood that looked like it had once been a chair, and lit it with his sonic screwdriver.

_'I thought that sonic thingy doesn't do wood." She had said._

_"It doesn't open wooden doors." He corrected her._

The Doctor had smiled at her when she rolled her eyes at his comment.

He had wanted it to be a surprise, now she was sulking next to the fire; hating him, and probably thinking of going home.

It wasn't like he had a pad of paper, she had taken that from him and never gave it back, plus she was asleep. And he knew what was in store for him if he had wakened her. That was a mistake that he was never going to make again.

The Doctor physically shuddered when he thought about it.

"Donna." He called her name softly; she ignored him, which he knew she was going to do. But, there was now way of backing down slowly now.

He calmly walked over to her, kneeling down of the old, moth-eaten blankets they had found in one of the bureaus. Her body tensed for a second before she briskly stood and went to the window, looking out onto the frozen landscape; the dead trees in the background, thier branches covered with ice. The wind blowing the snow around, causing their environment to be blurry. The lone blue phone box standing only meters away.

The Doctor sighed, looking down at the spot that they had shared together a couple of minutes ago. He had told her that with his body temperature, the use of 'body heat' would be a little redundant. However, she still sidled up to him; her head on his chest, and fell asleep. He could still feel the softness of her hair that he had stroked during her nap. The scent was faint, but he could pick out the almonds from her shampoo.

The hand that he had been holding behind his back fell into his lap, the black velvet box still clenched in his fingers.

The Doctor's ears perked up when he picked up a faint sob. He looked up at Donna and just managed to catch her fingers sweeping across her cheek.

He stood, placing the box inside his jacket pocket.

"Donna?" He whispered her name, not wanting her to go off on him again.

He tried to look into her eyes, but she quickly turned her head. The faint glow from the snowstorm caught the gleam of her damp cheeks.

The Doctor placed a hand on her shoulder, she tried to shrug it off, but his hold was a firm one. There was no way of running now.

Her body stared to shake ever so slightly and the Doctor feared for himself.

"Why are trembling? Is it the overpowering hatred for me? Or are you charging up to give me the biggest slap you have ever given?"

He tried to make her laugh, but failed.

Instead she scoffed at him, and the Doctor couldn't tell whether the exclamation was a good one or an irritated one.

Maybe it wasn't a scoff he had heard, maybe; just maybe, it was the sound of the straw. As in the last straw she had for him, and now she was wording the phrase that would be a blow for him, the phrase that told him she had enough, and wanted to go home.

"You are so…" She began, but stopped suddenly.

"So what?" He pushed at her, his eyes wide with anticipation, "Come on Donna, I'm so what?" This was a start, she could rant until the sky turned into pink flames, he didn't care, as long as there weren't words like: I, home, go, now; he was perfectly happy with a few insults.

In fact he deserved them.

"I was so scared, Doctor."

The Doctor's mouth opened in response to this, but he couldn't find any combination of words that would be ok to say.

The blue eyes he had come to adore, were now staring up at him with sadness and grief.

Again, she was crying because of him.

"I know that I'm loud, and sometimes I can be annoying, but I never thought you would leave me like that." Her voice started to quiver and she looked away from him once more.

The Doctor, all the while had been shaking his head, waiting for her to stop talking before he made his defense.

"No, Donna, I would never leave you."

This time, it was she that shook her head, "But, you will. I know it. I have this fear deep down inside of me that sometimes my chest tightens, and it's hard to breathe." She gasped for air, even thinking about it made her short for breath. "I have this feeling that one day, out of the blue you're going to look at me and say 'Thanks for everything, Donna, here's your stop'."

More tears replaced the ones she had wiped away, the Doctor pulled him into a tight embrace, her confession hitting him more than he thought it would.

He had done that to so many of his previous companions; Sarah Jane, even Martha.

Was that how he was?

Martha had once described it that they were nothing but stray dogs.

He would have his fun, and then chuck them out whenever he was bored.

But Donna was different; he had sensed that right away that Christmas long ago. She was the one that made him stop, the one that grounded him. That alone was reason enough to prove she was someone special, unlike those in the past.

"Donna, I could never leave you. I wish that I could make you understand." The Doctor closed his eyes and he uttered the first thing that came into his head, "I love you."

He felt Donna's body freeze in his arms, the Doctor's eyes went wide as his head processed the meaning behind the words.

The Doctor's brain searched for the dictionary, looking up the word 'love'.

_Love: to feel tender affection for somebody such as a close relative or friend, or for something such as a place, an ideal, or an animal._

Donna, friend. Donna, friend. Donna, friend. He felt like a bloody Neanderthal, but as much as he was saying it over and over in his head, it just didn't sound right.

Animal. Stray dog.

No, that wasn't right either and he surely wasn't going to say that to her face. He would be looking at incarnation number 11, and he didn't want that.

His head searched for definition 2.

_Love: to feel romantic and sexual desire and longing for somebody._

The Doctor would have to admit that the second definition was closer to what he was feeling then the first one.

There were times, if he was being honest, when some of Donna's blouses were kind of revealing, and the jerks and bumps of the TARDIS didn't help matters.

The sudden movement of Donna's body brought him out of his head and back into the cold cabin and the declaration that she was about to brush off very soon.

Their eyes met, and for the first time, the Doctor nervous.

Really nervous.

Not the kind of nervous when there's a big bad monster lurking after them and the only way of getting out was to jump from a really high building like they had done a couple of days ago. But, the kind of nervous where the tongue begins to dry up and the palms of the hands start to become clammy.

Wondering if he should have kept his mouth shut, or…

Donna's hand flew up and whacked him across the face.

"How dare you!" She cried, "Playing with my emotions like that."

Donna walked away and turned quickly around once more, "First you leave me without letting me know, then you come back and act as if it is no big deal, and now you tell me you love me!" She had been counting his faults on her fingers, but now they had formed into fist, a fist that made his pulse rate jump up.

"Donna, I do." He said, earnestly, not moving closer to her, but liking the fact that there was a five second space between them in case she felt like hurdling herself at him.

But, instead, she stood ever so still. "What?"

"I love you." The Doctor took a deep breath, "I hadn't realized it until this moment, but it is exactly as you described, I have the tightening of the chest and the shortness of breath; thank Rassilon for the respiratory bypass system."

Donna crooked her head, "Your what?"

But, the Doctor shook his head, "All that matters is," With an ample amount of bravery and a bit of risk on his part, the Doctor walked up to her, placing his hand at the base of her neck, his thumb caressing her jaw. "I know now that this is real, and true. I love you." He repeated.

He felt her swallow down the last remains of doubt and he found that permission to kiss her.

The lips beneath his were warm and welcoming, and a tad salty; but it only enhanced the taste of her. His tongue traced the soft flesh of her mouth, until he was granted admittance.

Donna was like no other in many respects, a girl born Chiswick, with the opportunity to travel through space and time in a spaceship with him.

He loved all his companions in some ways, some more than most; Donna was one of them. She had promised forever, and he knew that 'forever' would most likely never happen, but here and now was better than nothing.

Donna was the one to pull out of the embrace, by lack of oxygen to the brain she had said.

She smiled brightly up at him telling him that she was still angry, but his kiss surely made up for part of it.

"So why did you leave? You never said."

"What?" It took a moment for the Doctor to realize what she was talking about, "Oh! Right, your Christmas gift."

"Christmas? But, Christmas is twelve days away." She commented.

The Doctor took her hand, his brow rose, "Keeping tabs are we? For someone who hates the holiday you sure do know when it's coming."

"Yes, well, since I've met you; it seems to have grown on me." She pointed to him, "Just don't go thinking that I'm about to start singing carols or anything."

"Of course not." He said with a smile, he lead them back to the makeshift bed, and they both sat down.

He watched the fire dance in her eyes as his hand dived into his pockets, he knew it was in there, it was just a matter of seeking it back out. He could feel a couple of plastic wrapped crackers, a stapler, light bulb, string, his physic paper, and finally his fingers met velvet.

He pulled out the box and handed it to her, "Sorry about the lack of wrapping."

"Doctor, it isn't Christmas." She stated again.

The Doctor rolled his eyes, "There you go, picking it all to death." His hand went back into his pocket and this time took out a round, gold watch and he studied the time for a moment; not saying anything.

"What kind of watch is that?"

"Fob."

"Oh."

They fell silent again, until he shouted, "Okay, now!"

Donna almost dropped the box, "What?"

"Open it now!" He said, "It's Christmas!, December 25th, it's Christmas Day, now open it."

"Are you serious? Isn't that cheating?" She said.

"Donnnnnaaaa." He whined, "Why do you have to be this way? Why can't you just be like, 'Thank you Doctor, I love it so much'…"

"I don't sound like that." She put in.

"And then we can hug and kiss some more." The Doctor finished his sentence.

"I'm sorry; I just don't get gifts very often."

"Even on Christmas?"

She only shrugged.

"Well you've got one, now open it up, I'm can't wait to see your face."

She looked back up at him sharply, "Why, it's not going to bite me is it?"

He shook his head, a smile wide of his face.

Donna thought of another thing, her eyes cautiously found his again, "It's not an engagement ring is it?" Her voice giving away the fear of the possibility.

The Doctor's smile faded quickly, his eyes becoming distant.

"Oh, God, it is, isn't it?" She blew out a deep breath, "Doctor…"

Suddenly the Doctor's smile came back and his posture straight, "No, it isn't."

Donna's mouth fell open, and her hand became a fist again, "You're asking for it aren't you?"

He nodded, his body bouncing in place; looking more like a boy of six instead of a 900 year old Time Lord.

"Fine, I'm opening it." Donna looked down and slowly lifted the lid on its hinges, and her sapphire colored eyes widened and her lips parted.

"Doctor." She breathed, not being able to tear her eyes away from the gift, "Doctor."

The man sat completely happy at her smiling, awestruck face. "You like it?"

She nodded, "Oh, yes!"

She came up and kissed him soundly on the lips, pouring her love for the gift and for him into the embrace.

"Let me put it on for you." He took the box from her and lifted the necklace out of the case.

The Doctor shifted so that he was behind her and he draped the pendant in front of her, she chuckled when the cool silver touched her skin. He managed to work his long fingers and hook the clasp together, pulling her hair gently through the loop.

"There we go." He said.

Donna turned in her spot to face him once more, and he smiled when the glow from the fire illuminated the snowflake shaped jewel.

"It's beautiful, Doctor, thank you."

He nodded, "Take care of that, and it will do the same for you."

"What do you mean?" She asked looking down at the crystal ornament.

"That stone is called SnoKa. It has all sorts of protection properties. Basically, it ties you to me."

"What like a leash?" She said, looking taken aback.

"No, no, no." The Doctor said, scooting closer to her, "What I mean is, if anyone tries to harm you, or take you away from me, they'll know that it's me that they'll have to answer to."

"I should just let you know, that I am completely insulted by the fact that you think I can't take care of myself; by the fact that I've been doing it for years without you're help. And if you bring up Lance or the giant spider I swear I'll give you the worst slap of your life. However, you are saved by the mere fact that this is shiny and pretty; and that you told me that you love me, so that sorts of rights itself."

"Thank you or you're welcome, I'm kind of confused." He squeaked.

"Just be happy at that fact that I love you too."

The Doctor's face brightened up, "You do?"

She nodded, "Yes."

The Doctor bounded forward fell on top of her, Donna let out a tiny yelp before her back met the thin blanket.

"Hello." She said.

"Hello." He replied.

"I was very angry with you, you know." She told him, as she began to lightly pet his sideburn.

"I know, but now you're not."

She nodded.

"I'm just glad of Jack."

"What do you mean?" Her eyes falling back to his, "Are you saying that this was Jack's idea?"

"Well….uh-partially…yes." He stuttered, "He mentioned jewelry."

"You talked about my Christmas gift with Jack?"

"Yes."

She rolled her eyes, "Men."

"Time Lord." He corrected, pointing to himself.

"I was thinking more like, Spaceman, Martian, Prawn, Dumbo."

"Hey, watch it Earth Girl."

"Oi!"

The Doctor stifled the rest of her retort with his mouth, his hands coming up to her shoulders.

"Hey." She muttered against his lips.

"What?"

"I, uh, don't know what you were expecting, but I just want to take things slow, okay?" Her eyes were on the brink of pleading.

The Doctor nodded, "Of course. Besides, I didn't think that you would give in over a piece of jewelry; at least I hoped you didn't."

"What kind of comment was that?" Donna's eyes were now flashing, the pleading gone in an instant and replaced with contempt. "Are you saying I'm easy?"

"No! I'm just implying that you are a girl-woman of morals and respect. And love for me." He added quickly.

"Yes, well, don't you forget it." She said smugly.

The Doctor nuzzle her cheek, "Didn't expect this when you signed up with me, did ya?"

"You're damn right I didn't"

"Hey!"

"What? And that broadsided remark that you said was alright?" She folded her arms over her chest, which was practically impossible with the Doctor's body looming over her, but she managed anyway.

"It's a good thing you love me, right?" Her eyes batting.

"Yeah, a good thing." He said before kissing her.

Donna muttered against his lips once more, but he took no notice, her arms were already around him and there was enough wood to last them the morning when the sun would return.

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**How was it? Did it suck? Was it amazing? Please tell me. **


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